23. William Henry³ Peck (Ann²Barnes, Richard¹); born 30 September 1835 in England; baptized 11 October 1835 in Langham Parish, Langham, Norfolk, England, . The baptism was performed by Thomas Beckwith, Curate; married Emily Augusta Rollins, daughter of John Rollins and Sarah Bodge, 8 April 1858 in South Walden, Caledonia Co., VT, ceremony performed by the Rev. Joseph Enwright, M.G; he died 8 December 1903 in Danville, Caledonia Co., VT;²⁰ buried 10 December 1903 in Green Cemetery, Danville, Caledonia Co., VT.

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     William's baptismal record lists him as "Henry Barnes, illegitimate son of Ann Barnes, single woman." His father is unknown, but William's youngest daughter, Nancy, did communicate that she had been told that her grandfather had been a man named "Withers." There are several candidates of that name in Langham Parish. He immigrated circa 1836 to Danville, Caledonia Co., VT, There is no direct evidence which states the year of immigration. The deposition of William Shepard, made in November 1887 states that it was "near 53 years ago;" Peck's obituary gives his immigration as being at "nine months of age;" the 1900 census entry is very difficult to read and the year of immigration could be read as either 1837 or 1839, but the number of years in the United States, also hard to read, appears closer to be 62 years. A search of available passenger lists indexes to Eastern seabord ports for this time period did not include any family group or individual fitting this family. The family very likely entered the United States through Canada (see the family of Robert Parker).

     William Henry Peck registered in accordance with the Military Draft Registration Act of 1863 in June 1863 . He is listed there as white, age 28, laborer, married, born in England, a resident of Danville. It is noted that he has asthma. A later volume entitled "Corrections to Enrollments, June to December 1864" shows him as being "in U.S. Service." Danville's listing of corrections is dated 7 June 1864.

     William Henry Peck enlisted on 5 January 1864, in Danville, Caledonia Co., VT, as a private in Company C, Captain Farr, 4th Vermont Volunteers, part of the Vermont Brigade . This was the same regiment in which his brother-in-law, Samuel Ward Rollins, was serving as a corporal in Company G. William Henry was wounded by a musket ball to the head on 5 May 1864 , the first day of the Battle of the Wilderness.  

He entered Columbian General Hospital, Washington, DC, on 11 May 1864 from the Army of the Potomac with "gunshot wound head." On 15 May 1864 William Henry Peck was sent to Patterson Park General Hospital, Baltimore, MD. He was transferred from Baltimore to the General Hospital, Brattleboro, Windham Co., VT, on 7 June 1864 "with simple gunshot wound scalp." From from 27 June 1864 to 18 July 1864 William Henry Peck was allowed a furlough to his home in Danville . Descendants of Fannie Peck probably owe their existence to this furlough. He was discharged from military service on 14 January 1865 USA General Hospital, Brattleboro, Windham Co., VT. He received invalid pension no. 108,072 for G.S.W. [gunshot wound] of the head, dating from on 15 January 1865 at a rate of $4 per month. This rate was increased to $8 per month from 4 November 1885 and $16 per month from 2 February 1887.

     On the Danville Green is a monument to Danville's Civil War soldiers erected by James Rollins, William Henry Peck's brother-in-law. For those of us who descend from Henry Peck, his name is conspicuously absent from this monument. Somehow, the story that William Henry Peck spent all his military time in sick bay with asthma, has become accepted as truth. Perhaps this is a case of the survivors rewriting history. James Madison Rollins, whose youngest brother entered military service to obtain the bounty money to purchase James' commutation, outlived his peers by almost twenty years. There may have been some hard feelings between the brothers-in-law and there is a possibility that William Henry Peck's name was deliberately omitted from this monument. A second explanation may be found on Company C's muster rolls. William H. Peck appears as residing in Wilmington, hence may not have been credited to Danville.

     It appears that William Henry Peck was commonly known as Henry. He seems to have taken his stepfather's surname after the marriage of his mother to Robert Peck; but in the entry in the 1850 census of Danville his name is given as Henry B. Peck, a remnant of his baptismal surname. With the exception of his first few months of life and his military service during the Civil War, Henry Peck appears to have lived his entire life in the Danville, Vermont, area. He is probably the male under 5 shown in his grandfather's household in the 1840 census; he resides with his mother and stepfather in Danville in 1850; and in 1860 he is shown in Danville with young wife Emily and their one-year old son Charles.

     The 1870 census of Danville shows Henry Peck, farmer, age 34, as the owner of real estate valued at $2000. He appears to be the first of his family to own this much property. His family now includes his wife, two sons and three daughters. His family is completed by the January 1880 birth of daughter Nancy, but the 1880 Danville enumeration of this family shows some major discrepancies. Henry's age is given as 35; wife Emily is listed as age 33! The family includes four daughters and one son; the three eldest children, Charles, Walter and Kate, have left the parental home, the two sons working for neighborhood farmers and Kate working for uncle Benjamin Franklin Rollins. His Danville home, circa 1880, is shown here. .

     In 1897, Henry's wife Emily (Rollins) Peck inherited approximately $17,000 from her half-brother Benjamin Franklin's estate. The couple sold their North Danville property and bought a house on the Danville Green where they could now live comfortably. They appear in the 1900 Danville census schedule residing in Danville Town with daughter Nancy, who was the only Peck child unmarried at that time.

     William Henry Peck was named administrator of the estate of Mary S. Barnes [his maternal aunt] on 24 August 1899 Danville, Caledonia Co., VT, . He appears to have maintained a close relationship with his mother's family, but may have drifted away from his stepfather.

     Although William Henry Peck's death certificate lists his occupation as laborer, he appears to have been a farmer his entire life. He was a Methodist and attended the Danville Methodist Church. William Henry Peck died in 1903 at the age of 68 years 2 months 8 days; the cause of death was valvular heart trouble and asthma. His wife and all eight children survived him. His tombstone in Danville Green Cemetery is a large monument provided by his brother-in-law, James Rollins, which also names his wife and her parents and siblings. William Henry Peck's obituary appeared in the St. Johnsbury Caledonian, Danville, Caledonia Co., VT, 16 December 1903. It gives a fairly complete picture of the life of William Henry Peck. Warren Farrington wrote the following detailing his memory of his grandfather, William Henry Peck.

William Henry or Grandpa Peck as I knew him was born in England. (His army papers list him as being born in Danville,Vt.) He enlisted in the army Jan 5 1864. He was wounded May 5th of that year. Although I can find no record of the nature of his wound, I remember quite a visable [sic] dent in his forehead, that I was told was caused by a musket ball chipping out a piece of his skull.

     After his return to service he contracted bronchitis which developed into asthma that led to his disability discharge Jan 16 1865.

     I vaguely remember Grampa Peck being at our home in West Danville at corn cutting time, and on a similar occasion at uncle Charlie Peck's at North Danville.

     My only other memories are seeing him sitting quietly in his easy chair in the brick house in Danville, but having dificulty [sic] in breathing.

    Emily Augusta³ Rollins (Benjamin², John¹); (Catherine³ Ward, Samuel², Samuel¹); born 2 August 1837 in Danville, Caledonia Co., VT. She died 16 June 1908 in Danville, Caledonia Co., VT.²¹ She was buried in Green Cemetery, Danville, Caledonia Co., VT. .

     Five different birthdates have been found for Emily Augusta Rollins: 2 August 1836, 1837, 1838 and 1839, and 7 August 1838. There are two entries in the Danville, Vermont, town records, one recorded 10 November 1840 [2 August 1839], and the other recorded 27 December 1842 [7 August 1838]. Although I would assume the record made in 1840 was more accurate, no other evidence points to an 1839 birth year. Most of the census information points to an 1837 birth year. (See census table).²² Her tombstone gives a birth year of 1838, but that tombstone appears to be a modern monument. The 2 August 1836 birth date comes from a date calculation based on age at time of death.

     Emily Augusta (Rollins) Peck lived her entire life in the vicinity of Danville, Vermont. She is shown in her father Benjamin Rollins' household in the 1850 Danville census and is probably the female under the age of 5 years shown in his 1840 Danville household. She removed from her father's household to her husband's and appears with him in the Henry Peck households shown in the Danville census schedules of 1860 through 1900. Emily appears to have come from a close-knit family and it seems that she created another one to survive her.

     Emily Augusta (Rollins) Peck died at the age of 71 years 10 months 14 days. The death record lists the cause of death as old age with "Gran Coma" a contributing disease. She had lost one eye several years before her death, and lost sight in the remaining eye a few months before her death. She was buried with her husband in the Rollins family plot in Danville Green Cemetery. Emily's obituary appeared in the St. Johnsbury Caledonian, Danville, Caledonia Co., VT, 24 June 1908.

     Known children of William Henry³ Peck and Emily Augusta Rollins all born Danville, Caledonia Co., VT, were as follows:

• + 29 i. Charles Albertus⁴ Peck, born 4 May 1859; married Martha Maria Prescott.

• + 30 ii. Walter Haviland Peck, born 23 February 1861; married Flora B. Brown.

• + 31 iii. Kate V. Peck, born 19 January 1863; married Lothrop H. Lucas.

• + 32 iv. Fannie F. Peck, born 4 April 1865; married Lt. Ezra Harvey Brown.

• + 33 v. Margaret Susan Peck, born 22 July 1869; married George Elmer Farrington.

• + 34 vi. Fred Barnes Peck, born 23 October 1873; married Mary Morrill Page.

• + 35 vii. Anna May Peck, born 30 March 1877; married William C. Cheever.

• + 36 viii. Nancy Rollins Peck, born 13 October 1879; married Lewis A. Fisher.